1on1 with Jon Evans

Brad Thor tried once to launch a writing career, and it didn’t work. When the pieces started falling into place to give him a second chance, he jumped at it, and is now a #1 bestselling author of 21 thrillers, selling tens of millions of books around the world.  Brad joins WECT’s Jon Evans to talk about the idea behind his new Scot Harvath book “Black Ice”, the gamble of killing-off familiar characters, and getting the call to help prevent future terror attacks against the United States.

Kathy Reichs’ new book, The Bone Code, is the 20th in her bestselling Bones series that features forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. It’s a murder-mystery ‘ripped from the headlines’ that takes Tempe back to an unsolved case from her past. Reichs has also co-authored the young adult Virals books, and produced episodes of the long-running Bones television series, entertaining millions of fans since her debut in 1997.

Jack Carr spent two decades on the front lines of America’s war on terrorism. The former Navy Seal sniper and Special Operations Commander transitioned into a second career, and is now a New York Times bestselling author. While crafting novels like The Devil’s Hand, which keep readers riveted, Carr supports organizations that help other veterans begin and succeed in their post-military lives. 

Hannah Black and Megan Petersen have taken different roads to their place in the film industry. Once their paths converged in an acting class, it set off a chain of creative events that resulted in the award-winning independent film, Drought. The co-creators, co-directors and co-stars talk about the project’s long road from start to finish, the messages they wanted to convey, and the one word not contained in their vocabularies.

Drew and Owen Scheid play two of the central characters in the award-winning independent film Drought, now streaming on Amazon Prime. While Drew has more acting experience, Drought marks Owen’s film debut, playing a young man on the autism spectrum who is fascinated with weather and storm chasing. The two brothers talk about the messages the movie conveys, overcoming a hurricane interruption, and working together on-screen for the first time.

Shaneequa Vereen took a leap of faith to move halfway across the country without a job. Now, as Public Affairs Officer and Live Mission Commentator at NASA, Shaneequa is helping document mankind’s leaps into the heavens and beyond, while showing other young women of color that anything is possible with hard work and dedication.

Alex Highsmith is an imposing figure in his shoulder pads and Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. If you look closely, you will also see a little chip on his shoulder. It’s the fuel that has powered Highsmith’s internal engine, helping the Wilmington native reach the National Football League, where he is now paid to play the game he used to play for fun. Highsmith has already noticed the difference.

Patrick Brien doesn’t look at complicated issues the way most people do. The Army veteran and CEO of Cape Fear Collective has a view from about ten thousand feet, where he sees potential partnerships and innovative opportunities to address issues like poverty, affordable housing and healthcare. By using data to light the way, and capital to fuel the engine, Brien believes CFC can be the vehicle to drive understanding and generational change.

Long before Greta Van Susteren became Chief National Political Analyst for Gray TV and the host of “Full Court Press” on WECT, before she anchored shows on CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and Voice of America, and before she first gained national attention providing legal analysis during the O.J. Simpson Trial, the Wisconsin native had earned two law degrees, taught courses at law school and practiced law for a dozen years. But in the end, Greta says attending a toga party made a bigger difference in launching her television career.

Cliff Cash hasn’t had many chances to make people laugh with his stand-up comedy since the pandemic hit. But fans can get their fill with Half Way There, Cliff’s new album that spent three days at #1 on the iTunes Comedy Chart. In our podcast, Cliff talks about his first on-stage performance, why some people cry during his shows, and the time he had to tell his brother to stop being so funny.